About Italy Updated Sept. 2009
Italy is an enigma. It has been often called il bel paese (the beautiful country) and known to offer la dolce vita (the sweet life). Indeed, these descriptions are true, but they do not tell the whole story. Politically and spiritually, Italy has been and remains a dark place. Italy is one of the European nations that never saw the light of the Protestant Reformation. Wherever the light of the gospel began to shine it was swiftly stamped out by the established Church of Rome.
Evangelicals exist in small pockets, mostly in the larger cities. The vast majority of towns and cities remain without a single Evangelical church, most often without even a single known believer. Less than 1% of Italy’s 58 million people are Evangelical. Too frequently, the missionaries do not get along with each other and start “rival” works in the same small suburb. Most missionaries, discouraged after the first term, abandon a small group of believers who try to survive without training and without leadership. It is commonly reported that 90% of missionaries to Italy do not go back after the first term. This vicious cycle has continued for the last sixty years.
It is commonly reported that the primary need for the growth of the church in Italy is that of leaders. Patrick Johnstone in Operation World captures the situation well when he writes, “The dearth of mature Italian Christian leaders in Protestant churches at both the national and pastoral level is crippling the advance of the gospel. Internal conflicts and scandals due to pride, money, and power-seeking have harmed the witness.”
All is not bleak, however, as there are many signs of life in Italy. In the last 10-15 years God has raised up solid publishing and conference ministries to equip disciples and leaders in Italy. There are more missionaries and more ministries in Italy today than ever before! We praise God for these encouraging developments.
We ask you to pray for the Italian church and for the missionaries to work together in modeling and reproducing godly, servant leaders. As recent missionary appointees to Italy with WorldVenture, we are just beginning our partner development. We ask you to pray for God to raise up a team of supporters who will not only give but also pray for our ministry on a regular basis. We believe God has called us to serve the church of Italy, but we know we cannot do it alone. For more about our ministry to Italy visit Fueling Faith in Italy. Thank you for praying!
Invitation
There are several ways for you to be involved in ministering to the spiritually needy people of Italy.
1) Pray. Italy has never been impacted by the Protestant Reformation. In Mark 9:28-29, the disciples could not cast out a demonic spirit. When they asked Jesus why, He said, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Italy also is in such great spiritual bondage that a special ministry of intercessory prayer is needed. You can have an impact on Italy with your fervent prayer.
2) Support us as your missionaries. Like most missionaries we must raise our financial support from churches and interested friends. Contact us for more information or to schedule a presentation for yourself, your group, or church.
3) Raise awareness in your church. You can help keep your church family informed of the needs and accomplishments of missionaries in Italy. The Lord could use you to lead your church to get involved in the ministry in Italy.
4) Go yourself. You can serve as a short-term or career missionary yourself. Contact a mission agency like WorldVenture for more information about becoming a missionary to Italy.
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